A Perthshire raw pet food brand, founded by two friends after three of their four dogs developed cancer, is now shipping more than 140,000 meals every week to UK dog owners.
Bella & Duke was set up less than two years ago by Mark Scott and Tony Ottley – they’ve seen double digit growth each month and are now shipping close to 10,000 units each month from their base in Scotland.
Customers can subscribe to a range of raw food options depending on the age, size and tastes of their pet. The meals are shipped frozen and placed directly inside the customer’s kitchen freezer with each delivery lasting around one month per dog and working out at around £1 a day.
Once defrosted customers report the raw food is woofed down by their dogs and they often see real visible improvements in health and vitality.
Some also report improvements in the behaviour of their dog as they move from a processed diet high in additives to a much more natural raw food diet.
Dried dog food, or kibble, has grown in popularity over recent years, but many pet owners are now turning to raw food to help their four legged friends thrive.
Bella & Duke was founded by friends Mark Scott and Tony Ottley after three of their four dogs developed cancer and they became convinced that processed diets had led to their illnesses.
Sadly two of the beloved pets passed away but the third, Gus, survived and made a full recovery after being placed on a raw food diet.
Both men were inspired to set up their company and embark on a mission to educate the dog owning public about the benefits of a natural raw food diet.
Co-founder Tony said: ‘We are what we eat and it’s exactly the same with dogs. Only humans and dogs and cats eat processed food. Every other species eats raw food. Yet so many customers come to us as a last resort because their animals are having health issues.
‘What they soon discover is raw food is so much better for their dog and they know we have developed it as dog lovers ourselves.
‘We are dog owners feeding our dogs this food so naturally we want to make sure it’s the best food possible for them.
‘We’ve been delighted with how Bella & Duke has been received by dog owners. Our journey started with sadness but it’s become something very positive.’
Tony said: ‘We go to great lengths to ensure our dog food is of the highest possible quality. Take Omega 3 for example, a lot of dog foods have added omega 3 but this is from flaxseed oil, dogs can’t digest flaxseeds so there is no benefit in adding it to their food.
‘We add salmon oil, which is super high in Omega 3, although a lot more expensive than flaxseed oil dogs can digest it and get all of its goodness. We haven’t stopped there, we are looking to add Omega 3 to our food from further down the food chain, this is an ongoing project, which we are hoping to bring to the market soon.
‘This development isn’t cheap, but it’s a good example of how dedicated we are in making Bella & Duke the very best possible food for dogs. It’s what every dog deserves.’
The Bella & Duke raw food comes in a range of options including lamb, chicken, beef, salmon, tripe, white fish, turkey and duck.
The meat ingredients are blended with vegetables and fruits which are seasonally adjusted to prevent food intolerance. All are gluten and grain free and all meat is sourced from BRC accredited human grade factories in the UK.
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